A new report (PDF) from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that the processes used by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to verify reports of workplace illnesses and injuries have sizable holes — holes that corporations can use to underreport health and safety risks on the job:
OSHA overlooks information from workers about injuries and illnesses because it does not routinely interview them as part of its records audits. OSHA annually audits the records of a representative sample of about 250 of the approximately 130,000 worksites in the high hazard industries it surveys to verify the accuracy of the data on injuries and illnesses recorded by employers. However, OSHA does not always require inspectors to interview workers about injuries and illnesses—the only source of data not provided by employers—which could assist them in evaluating the accuracy of the records. In addition, some OSHA inspectors reported they rarely learn about injuries and illnesses from workers since the records audits are conducted about 2 years after incidents are recorded. Moreover, many workers are no longer employed at the worksite and therefore cannot be interviewed. OSHA also does not review the accuracy of injury and illness records for worksites in eight high hazard industries because it has not updated the industry codes used to identify these industries since 2002.
CtW Health and Safety Coordinator Eric Frumin explains the real-life consequences of underreporting:
Underreporting is not just a technical violation of the law. Resource allocation, from inspections to the targeting of specific hazards, depends on accurate reporting. Injuries and disease, that could have been prevented, needlessly take a toll in workers’ lives and well-being as a result…
This is an unparalleled abuse of a basic workplace law that is fundamental to the lives and health of America’s working families. Congress should act now on the Protecting America’s Workers Act. The Act would specifically prohibit current underreporting abuses, and give OSHA the means to correct the abuses. Workers must also have a voice at work. Too often employers can easily silence workers and suppress their rights. A worker voice means safer workplaces.